Saving Grace
by three miles away
Summary: The LAPD has a serial murderer on their hands, but when they find his latest victim alive, Travis and Wes soon find out everything is not what it seems and that "The Collector" will go to any lengths to get back what is his. Throw in some near death experiences for these detectives and you have one wild ride. Crime/Suspense/Hurt/Comfort/Friendship/Angst *ON HIATUS*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: In honor on Common Law airing their 1st season finale tonight at 10/9 CST, I'm posting my first 'Common Law' multi-chapter fic. Not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine. Rated T for mentions of rape, bloody scenes, mild language and whumping of our favorite detectives. My internet isn't working great, so until that is fixed I won't be able to update this. I couldn't wait to post it, so here you go, Commers!**

**Warnings: language, angst/violence, mentions of rape. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Common Law. If I did... we'd all know if it was renewed for a second season. * shrugs ***

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Chapter 1

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

- Albert Einstein

Detective Travis Marks checked his gun one more time before stepping foot out of the car. He and his partner Detective Wesley Mitchell, along with half of the LAPD were about to enter an old house on the outskirts of town in the hunt for a man dubbed "The Collector" by the LAPD, who is wanted for seven brutal murders in the past three and a half months. Giving directions to the officers, Wes and Travis took the front door.

The weather was cool and crisp as it was early in the morning, around 3 at the latest and there weren't any lights on in the house. "Everyone be prepared. This guy is highly dangerous and most likely armed." Wes said into him comm. Given the signal, the groups moved in from the front and back of the old run down place, weapons drawn.

Travis moved through the house quietly, checking each room he went in and out of. Wes motioned that he was going up stairs, taking a few officers with him. Detective Marks nodded his head and went to the kitchen. The beam from his flashlight lit up the room and Travis felt his stomach drop.

Blood was splattered on the floor, counters, and sink. A bloody hand print on the fridge door. Knives lay discarded, along with bowls and other household items. A noise close to him brought Travis from his thoughts and he went to check it out.

Gun at the ready, Travis was about to open a door that led to the basement when a strong arm lashed out on his arm, knocking his weapon out of his grasp. Travis ducked to the side as a hand aimed for his head. A glimmer flashed in the moonlight from the knife that was in between the enemy's palm.

"You cops needa mind your own damn business," a deep voice boomed getting ready for another charge.

"That'll be kinda hard, Justin," Travis started as he sidestepped another slash at his body. "seeing that this is my business." Justin growled and ran full steam towards the weaponless detective, knocking him onto a table. The two fought and Justin punched Travis with his free hand, dazing the man.

Seeing stars, Travis was unable to prevent the knife from meeting is destination as is cut across his bicep on his left arm. Holding back a cry of pain, Travis gritted his teeth together before kneeing the criminal in the midsection and shoving him off his body.

Doubled over, Justin lost the knife and it fell to the floor with a crash. "your gonna regret that, cop," he hissed through clenched teeth. Travis didn't say anything, just got ready for an attack. Justin didn't see the detective look to the ground and then back up, while Travis saw that Justin wasn't going to go out without a fight.

"There's only two ways you can come out of this, Justin," Travis started, ignoring the pain that radiated from his arm. "Either you leave here in cuffs, or in a body bag. Your choice,"

"How 'bout this!" Justin reach behind his back and pulled a small gun on the detective and a single shot rang out.

Justin Tucker lay on the floor, dead. A single bullet hole in between his still open eyes.

Travis looked at the body and then turned around only to find Wes who was just now lowering his rifle. Walking over to his partner, Wes asked, "You alright?" gesturing towards Travis' still bleeding arm with his flashlight.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said, holding back a grimace. Making his way over to where Justin's body lay, Travis picked up his gun and light and headed to the basement door once again saying to Wes, "I heard something coming from here." He slowly opened the door and descended the wooden stairs, Wes keeping close behind him.

The two detective shone their lights throughout the basement and found a very disturbing sight.

Bloody tools stood in a corner and some lay in the middle of the concrete floor. A large black tarp sat a few feet away, being held down by rocks that were stained red. The strong smell of copper filled the room and both men began to feel sick.

"This much be where he," Wes paused for a lack of words. "you know,"

Travis didn't answer, instead walked towards the back of the dark room in search for a light switch. His flashlight came in contact with a hanging string and he pulled it. A dim light came on, barely giving off any energy.

"Wes!" Travis called to his partner. Wes came right over and saw what sounded so urgent.

A woman lay tied up to a pole in a corner. Her hands were being held at an awkward angle and her black hair was covering her face, her head lulled to the side. Cuts covered her arms and legs, blood stains littered her clothes. She wore only a tank top and shorts that were all too small.

Travis holstered his weapon behind his back and knelt down to check if the woman was even alive. Reaching out a hand, Travis placed two fingers on the woman's neck to search for a pulse when all of the sudden the woman jumped causing him to stumble back.

Strands of hair still covered her face, but the two detectives could make out the look of fear in her eyes. She tried to back away from the two men, but the wall and rope prevented her from going any where.

"Hey, we're not gonna hurt you," Travis said as he made another attempt to get closer to the woman, but she wasn't having any of it. Wes stepped up behind Travis and said, "The house is clear. I called the paramedics." as he bent down to reach Travis' level. But the woman didn't like that.

Her eyes grew bigger when she saw how close Wes was, which cause her to freak out. She tried and tried to back away from the men, shaking her head all the while. "Wes, step back." said Travis.

Not sure what was going through Marks' head, Detective Mitchell did as he was asked. Meanwhile, Travis raised his hands as if in a surrender, as he began to talk the woman down.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to help." Travis continued. "Can I do that?"

The woman slowly stopped trying to back away. Travis took that as a good start and went to untie her hands slowly. The sound of footsteps came to his ears which meant that the paramedics had arrived. They made their way over, bags in hand ready to get to work.

"What do we have here?" one of them asked.

"Female, mid to late 20s, African-American." Wes said. "Multiple cuts on her arms and legs, a possible wound on her torso,"

One of the paramedics nodded as he took out a needle and filled it with a clear liquid. Wes noticed this action and spoke up, "I don't think that's-" he was cut off. "You've done your job, detective. Now let us do ours." he, Kevin by his name tag, said. His partner, Sara, motioned for Travis to back away, which he did.

Kevin leaned in and was about to inject the woman when she lashed at him with what little strength she had which cause the syringe to shatter to the ground. Travis was back at the scared woman's side in a flash.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said slowly trying to calm her back down. "they want to help you," the woman was scared and didn't trust anyone to get close to her. That much Travis was sure of.

"We need to sedate her before she hurts someone," Sara said moving towards the two people on the floor with another filled syringe. Travis held up a hand signaling the female paramedic to stop what she was doing.

"Just wait a minute, alright?" Travis asked. The two paramedics sent glares towards the detective, but didn't move to argue. "Hey, we aren't going to hurt you. We're here to help, okay?" said Travis to the shaking victim.

"I'm going to be right here with you, okay?" he could see she was beginning to calm down. Was he beginning to earn her trust? Looking up, the woman gave a slight nod.

"Alright, where's that gurney?" Travis asked the still silent paramedics, Kevin and Sara, who in turn answered. "We.. didn't bring one," Kevin said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "We didn't think anyone would be alive."

"You didn't-" Wes said, but stopped short of finishing what he was going to say.

"Its fine, I'll carry her." Travis looked at the woman and smiled. "We're gonna get you out of here. Okay?" still shaking a little bit, the woman nodded again, not saying a word.

Lifting her up in his arms bridal style, Travis began to make his way to the stairs. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but sigh at how lightweight she was. He could feel her ribs on his body and felt the stickiness of her blood on the palms of his hands.

Making his way out of the house and down the front steps, Travis gently laid her down on a waiting gurney. Red and blue lights flashed amongst the trees while the police worked to contain the scene.

"Sir, we need to get your arm checked out," someone said. Turning around, Travis saw a petite woman standing opposite of him, pointing to his wounded limb. "Its alright. You can ride with her if you'd like."

"yeah. Could you wait one second?" Travis jogged off to find his partner who was speaking with Captain Sutton.

"Hey Cap, you don't need me here do you?" he asked.

"I do, mostly because I want to know what happened." Mike said. "but seeing as you have some things that need to be cared for, I suppose the report can wait til later."

"Thank you, Cap," Travis said to the captain. "and Wes,"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for having my back, bro."

Wes watched his partner as he headed back to the waiting ambulance and got in. Sirens blaring, the vehicle took off towards the nearest hospital. "Any time,"

-xXx-

Travis Marks paced the waiting room with a fresh bandage on his arm. It took 22 stitches to close and two weeks worth of antibiotics to prevent infection. Not that he was counting. He would have to go back to the doctor in one week to check and make sure that he hadn't caught any thing, but that was the least of his worries.

He had been in the hospital for two and a half hours and still hadn't gotten word from any doctors or nurses. He was starting to wonder what was taking them so long.

Just when he was about to go to the desk and ask himself, a female doctor came in.

"Detective Marks, I presume?" she said. "I'm Doctor Rachel Owens,"

"Travis, please." he said as he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, doctor. How is she?"

"That's what I need to talk to you about." she began. "I apologize for the wait for her condition, but I won't sugar coat what I'm about to tell you," she waited a second before continuing.

"The woman that was brought in was in bad shape, to say the least. She was given a light sedative on the ride here, as we didn't know what kind of injuries she had. When she was taken back to the ER, most of the sedative had worn off.

"At first glance, I saw that she multiple lacerations on her arms and legs and what appeared to be whip marks on her back and shoulders. She started to come around not long after this and caused quite a scene. My team of four doctors and nurses couldn't contain her. My male nurses couldn't get close to her at all.

"After what seemed like hours, I had to send them to another station, which left me short handed on what needed to be done. After getting her vitals finished, I saw that she had burns on her fingers tips." she saw Travis raise an eyebrow at this statement.

"I'm afraid you heard that right. But then I came to another conclusion. Once her major injuries were taken care of, I had them give her another sedative so I could perform a different test. One that wouldn't have gone over well if she was awake."

"Doctor, are you saying," Travis couldn't even finish his sentence, but the Doctor Owens knew what he wanted to ask.

"Yes. I'm afraid I'm saying that she was raped."

**A/N: Sorry for my lack of medical knowledge. I volunteer in a medical clinic and I've had a few hospital visits myself to get by with it in fanfiction. If I got anything wrong, I'm sorry.**

**A/N 2: I can't decide on a first name for Jane Doe and I need your help. Take a few seconds and review with a UNISEX name. Like Taylor, or Devon, or Alex, etc. Its still a few chapters before you know her name, but you'll understand more once her back story/history is reveled. I'll pick the best one for this story by Chapter 4 at the earliest.**

**Review with your thoughts! :)**

**Oh, and has anyone else see the trailer for Michael Ealy's (Travis Marks) new movie "Unconditional"? O.M.G. * dead ***


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Common Law or anything that is recognizable. The plot and (still unnamed) OC are completely mine.**

**Warnings: mentions of rape, mild violence**

**A/N: Thank you all so much! Eight reviews is the most I've ever had for one chapter. Here's chapter two. Its wayyyy longer than I intended, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how it is!**

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Chapter 2

Detective Wesley Mitchell drove down the highway as he tried to process the information that was gathered at the crime scene. He played the other victims files over and over in his head while trying to piece together this massive puzzle, but nothing made sense.

Pulling into the hospital parking lot, Wes turned the ignition off, got out of his car and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, making a mental note to grab a cup of coffee when he got inside. Walking to the receptions desk, he asked for a "Jane Doe" and what floor she would be on. After getting the requested info five minutes later, the detective made his way to the 4th floor.

Going through a set of doors, Wes spotted his partner slumped in a waiting room chair. Walking closer, he saw a white bandage wrapped his fellow detectives arm.

"How're you feeling?" he asked once he was within earshot. Travis lifted his head and sighed before answering, "22 stitches and a prescription for some meds. Other than that, I'm good."

"Good," Wes answered taking a seat of his own.

"Find anything at the scene?"

"Yeah, uh not really. We don't need to worry about that right now." Wes said. "How's the girl?" the looked on Travis' face when he said that made Wes think that something was wrong.

"She's pretty beat up, Wes." Travis said in a low voice. "She was all cut up and had burns on her fingertips. And she was raped," Wes didn't say anything. "Its bad, man. The doctors want to keep her in the ICU for a few days."

Wes replied, "Do they think she'll pull through?"

"Her doctor said the first 48 hours will be tough. But if she makes it past that, then things will look better."

Wes looked at his watch and yawned before saying, "Well, there's not much we can do here. Better get some rest," Travis wanted to protest. He didn't want to leave the hospital even for a second because he.. honestly he didn't know. But his adrenalin had long since worn off and he could hardly keep his eyes open. Reluctantly, he followed his partner out of the hospital and into his car. Wes dropped him off at his apartment and he went straight to bed, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

-xXx-

Captain Mike Sutton was in his office meditating the next morning when he heard a soft knock on his door. He opened his eyes and saw one of his detectives enter, file in hand. Turning off his "smooth surround sound player" of ocean waves, the captain beckoned for the man to come and sit down.

"What have you got, Shaw?" he asked as he pulled up to his desk. The detective opened the file in hand and turned to the required page, sliding it to his captain.

"I ran the similarities between the first seven victims and the crime scenes and our Jane Doe from last night," Detective James Shaw paused as he turned the page before speaking again, "Everything was exactly the same until the last one."

"We had a serial murder on our hands; of course it'd be the same." Captain Sutton said. "What was different about the Jane Doe case?"

Shaw placed a few crime scene photos on the captains desk and spoke as he went, "We _have, _Captain. The first seven victims were females of two different races: four Caucasian, three African- American.

"He tied them up the same way, hands behind their back and feet secured to a stake in the ground. A gag was placed in their mouth and then taped over. He didn't do much else other than beat then as you can tell by the bruising, until about the sixth day where he'd-" the captain cut him off, not wanting to hear the details.

"Alright. And the J.D.?"

"The coroner report for the first seven came back and confirmed that the women starved and were severely dehydrated. Jane Doe was tied up with her hands held above her at a sideways angle, feet left alone. I talked to the hospital and they said she hadn't had anything to eat in days, but was given less than a cup of water somewhere between a week to ten days time.

"The wounds she had are new as well. None of the others had cuts on their arms or legs, and they didn't possess whip marks on their backs. Jane Doe's fingertips were burned and it looked like he had started on her feet as well, but was interrupted."

"So, Justin Tucker changed his game plan?" Mike asked. "Why?"

"That's the thing: serial killers _don't_ change what they already know. They like to keep it straight forward, not wavering from the path they made. Just look at the knots," Detective Shaw placed two more photos on the desk, pointing at the first, "this is a basic square knot, any one could've done it. But the ones on our Jane Doe, completely the opposite. I know a guy who served in the Army, and he mentioned years ago that troops practiced knots like this."

"So your saying that Tucker was in the Army,"

"No sir, I'm not." Shaw answered. "I'm saying that Justin Tucker didn't have any records of enlisting. No one in his family ever had. I'm saying that Tucker didn't murder these women. Someone else did and that man is still out there."

-xXx-

Travis Marks rolled over onto his back and groaned. He slowly opened his eyes and sighed when he saw that the sun was already shining through his blinds. Fumbling for his phone that somehow found its way onto the floor, he glanced at the time. _11:57am._ Why hadn't anyone called him? Sitting up, the detective ran a hand over his face, wincing when he felt the tug in his arm from the stitches. Getting out of the soft bed, he grabbed a pair of jeans and a blue long sleeve shirt before heading towards the shower.

Once he was done, and feeling slightly refreshed, Travis picked up a granola bar to eat. He changed the dressing on his arm as well. His phone starting ringing after he was finished and saw that it was the hospital.

"Marks?" he answered.

"Detective Marks?" came a woman's voice, "this is Doctor Owens from the hospital, you brought in a young woman early this morning?"

"Yes, that's right." he was already wondering why the doctor was calling. "How is she?"

"I'm pleased to say that she is responding to the treatment that we've giver her so far." the doctor paused before continuing. "She made it through the night, but its still too early to say anything for sure, I just wanted to keep you up to date."

Travis let go of a breath that he didn't know he was holding, "Thank you, Doctor Owens. Please keep me informed,"

"My pleasure, detective. Good day." the phone clicked and that was the end of their conversation. It was already a quarter past noon and Travis needed to get to the station. Picking up the container of medicine, he read the directions before placing two in his mouth, downing them with a glass of water.

His phone rang again and this time it was Wes, he tapped the _Answer_ button and held the device up to his ear.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." came his partners voice. Travis could hear Jazz music playing in the background, but didn't say anything about it.

"Morning," he answered in a yawn.

"Actually, its afternoon but that's neither here nor there." Wes laughed. "Anyway, the Captain called and he needs us at the station right now."

"Yeah, alright I was just about to head out the door."

"Need a lift?" Detective Mitchell questioned hopefully. He knew Travis only got a few hours of rest. Surely he was in no condition to take his bike.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll see you there."

"Okay," Wes didn't say anything after that. Travis hung up the phone before sliding it into his back pants pocket. Picking up his helmet and gun and keys, he locked his door behind him and made his way to the parking lot.

He got on his motorcycle and headed for the station where he made it in under 20 minutes. The LA traffic was always backed up, which is why he wanted to take his bike: he could ride in between the lanes with no problem.

Once at the station, he parked his bike, meeting Wesley along the way. He had his hand up to wave and was about to greet the other man, with the double glass doors opened and the captain stood in front of them.

"You two, my office, right now." he said as he turned around. Wes looked to Travis who in turn shrugged before following the older man, Wes right behind him.

The two detective sat down opposite of the captain once in his office and waited for the man to talk. Mike Sutton held an odd mixture of emotions on his face: something he hardly ever let show. He was pacing back and forth, seeming trying to get his words right. Then he sat down in his own chair before speaking, "Boys, this case just took a turn for the worse."

Wes replied, "What do you mean, sir?" the Captain began to go over everything that Detective Shaw had discovered. Travis and Wes had a look of disbelief on their faces when he was finished talking and going over the facts.

"So, if Justin Tucker isn't The Collector," Travis questioned. "then who is? And what was Tuckers' part in this mess?"

"That's what you guys need to find out. This guy broke his pattern for some reason, and I think it starts with our Jane Doe." Mike said. "He'll more than likely will try to finish the job, so protecting her is this departments top priority."

"She was beat up pretty bad and the doctors said it still could be a couple days before she wakes up." spoke Wes. "Think he'll try to get to her before she does?"

"We can't take that chance. I'll post a couple uniforms at her room and in the mean time you two get to the bottom of this. Go through the other cases if you have to so we can get this SOB off the streets." the captain said before allowing the men to leave.

Hours had passed and the detectives were still at their desks, Travis and Wes went over the other cases. Travis was on the sixth victim and Wes the seventh when the latter closed the file and put his head into his hands while sighing deeply.

"This isn't working," he said. "I can't figure out why this psycho changed everything up at the last minute,"

"Same here," Travis responded. "Its like a giant puzzle without the middle pieces,"

"What we need to do is talk to the woman, see if she can remember anything,"

"That's kinda hard to do right now, dude." said Travis as he took a drink from a bottle of water. "We need to find a way to make use of the facts we have now."

"Which is noth-" Wes was cut off by the sound of Travis' phone ringing. The other man answered it. The conversation was short but apparently held good news.

"That was the hospital. Our Jane Doe has been responding to some of the doctors questions. They think she'll be waking up soon."

"Great, let's go." Wes said as he picked up his suit jacket and headed for the door.

"Take it easy though," Travis stated as they made their way to the elevator. "we don't know if she will wake up today and we don't know what to expect if she does."

"Alright Doctor Phil,"

-xXx-

It was around five o'clock in the evening when Wes and Travis walked through a set of double doors once on the ICU floor where they spotted Doctor Owens at the desk writing notes in her chart. The detectives greeted her, Travis introducing Wes before following her to Jane Doe's room.

"I have to say I'm a bit surprised to see her making such remarkable recovery at this pace." doctor Owens began, "Her injuries were unlike anything I've seen, this being my 18th year in the medical field. Its a sight to behold,"

"What other injuries did you find?" Wes asked.

"Nothing much on the physical side of things other than burns on the victims feet and an older, smaller gash on her torso." the doctor replied as the group entered a room. "As I told another detective, the guy who did this more than likely was interrupted, though the prints are still unrecognizable. We don't know what to expect in her mental state."

"So 'The Collector' went out of his way to make sure we couldn't identify our Jane Doe." said Travis as he thought of what to do next. "Do you think she means more to him, than we first thought?" he asked Wes.

"I don't know, its kinda hard to say right now." the three people entered the ICU after passing two polices officers who stood on either side of the door. Doctor Owens went over a few things with a nurse before needing to head out to check on other patience, leaving the detectives alone.

The woman lay in the bed all too still. She had bandages wrapped around her arms, much like the way Travis' were. They were sure that the rest of her frail body was in the same condition, but didn't dwell on the facts. She was alive and making progress: they had to make sure it stayed that way.

After a few minutes, a man in a dress shirt and tie and white lab coat walked into the room. He had a mustache, wore rimless glasses and his hair was a short and dirty blond. His name tag said 'Dr. Holden.' 'He greeted the detectives before saying, "I'm afraid you'll need to leave. Its time for her medicine." he spoke as he held up a clear bottle and syringe. The men nodded and left, leaving the doctor to his work.

Out in the hallway, Travis hung back to talk to the officers while Wes went ahead. Catching up, he ran into Doctor Owens who was returning from another floor.

"Going so soon?" she asked.

"Yeah, we didn't want to get in the doctors way." said Wes.

Doctor Owens had a look of disbelief on her face saying, "I'm the only doctor seeing to your Jane Doe, who's in there right now?"

Travis and Wes exchanged looked before racing back towards the ICU with Doctor Owens in tow. They burst through the door, passing the officers who didn't know what was going on. In the room was a slightly different scene than when they left not even two minutes ago.

Jane Doe was unmoving still, but her face had begun to pale. The steady beeping of the heart monitor was now a constant shrill like sound as it showed a flat line.

**A/N: So. How was that? Chapter three is already completed, I only need to read over it. In the mean time, click that little button below this story and leave a review for "Saving Grace". :)**

**A/N 2: I'm still taking suggestions for a UNISEX FIRST NAME, I already have a last name. I got a PM a few days ago with one and I really like it, but I'm not going to pick right now. So review.**

**PREVIEW for Chapter Three:**

**~ The Collector makes contact with one of the detectives.**

**~ There's a chase scene.**

**~ Someone has a near death experience.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Common Law. If I did... hmmm, I'll have to get back to y'all on that.**

**Warnings: language, angst and things blow up.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews and follow/favs alerts! I was going to wait until early next week to post this, but I couldn't wait. I'm having fun with this story. Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine alone. Here is C3! :)**

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Chapter 3

Doctor Owens rushed to work, pressing a button on the wall. An alarm sounded and nurses came into the room shouting and following orders while they went.

The detectives knew there was nothing they could do so they stepped outside to speak with the officers on duty. When in the hallway, Travis saw a flash out of the corner of his right eye. Turning the way, he saw a man run through an _EXIT_ door before it slammed shut and took off in pursuit.

"Wes, he's heading for the stairs!" he yelled back to his partner. Wes stopped talking to the officers and followed suit giving chase.

They ran down a couple flights of stairs being on the 4th floor which meant they were currently on the 2nd and the man way now in their sights. Wes had caught up with Travis as they rounded a corner. The man was climbing onto a ledge, causing the two me to halt and draw their weapons.

"Freeze! LAPD!" Wes called out. The man didn't turn around so they couldn't see his face. His body language though clearly said that he was going to jump. Travis took a few short steps closer to the man while trying to calm him down.

"Hey man, you don't need to do this," he stated. "Lets talk this through," Still the man was frozen. Travis saw his shoulders rise and fall slowly as if sighing.

Then he jumped.

"No!" Travis yelled. He was sure Wes said the same thing, but he didn't hear him. The two detectives ran to the walls edge and gasped when they saw an open top semi-truck filled with mattress padding driving away, with the man inside. The truck was too far away to get a good identification, but they could make out the small figure of a person as it climbed out of the back and into the front with whoever was driving.

"What the hell just happened?" Wes yelled as the semi got further and further away. He turned from the sickening sight and saw Travis who was pacing back and forth.

Travis said, "We should've seen this coming. He had to have been watching us the whole time."

"Did you recognize him?"

"Nah, man, I didn't." walking back towards the way they came from, Travis stopped when he spotted a trashcan. He looked through it before finding a wig, mustache and fake eyebrows.

"Check this out," he told his partner.

"What've you got?" Wes got closer and whistled when Travis held up what he found with the end of his gun. "He meant business,"

"Still don't think this girl means a lot to him?"

"Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't. What we know for sure is that he's willing to kill to keep whatever info she knows under wraps." Wes thought for a second, "Lets call the Cap and let him know what we found and get back upstairs."

Wes pulled out a plastic baggie from his suit jacket and held it over to the other detective so he could place the evidence in. Travis did a double take but shook his head, while putting the evidence away.

"Maybe we can get some DNA off of these," said the blond man as he began his way back to the stairs.

"If this guy is as smart as he's playing, I'd doubt it." Travis answered. "Its the only lead we have, so its worth a shot."

They arrived back on the 4th floor to see that things had calmed down, though there were still a couple nurses milling about the hall. They saw Doctor Owens as she walked towards them, her face was unreadable so they didn't know what to expect.

"The good news is we got her stable again, we lost her twice in the process though." she said cutting to the chase. "Whoever this guy is, he's good. We aren't sure what he gave her but it acted very quickly. She is on simple antibiotics right now, but it won't last. Until we find out what he used, she won't make it past tomorrow night."

"Dammit," Travis said as he looked at a clock on the wall. "All right, that gives us less than 30 hours to work with. I'm going to talk to the security officers on this floor, Wes call Janell."

"And ask her what, exactly?" Travis was already out of earshot, or he was simply ignoring him. Wes wasn't sure, but he thought the latter. Regardless, he excused himself from the doctors presence and pulled out his phone. He talked with Janell and told her about the symptoms that was mentioned by Doctor Owens and not two minutes later, Travis was back just as he was hanging up.

"Officers Collins and Tracy couldn't give me much to go on." he said. "They did confirm that the wig was what they both saw."

"Just talked to Janell, said it could have been a number of things and if they administered the wrong antidote it would kill our Jane Doe." Wes said. Doctor Owens showed up behind them and cleared her throat to get there attention.

"Still no change, I'm afraid." she said when she saw the looks on their faces.

"Thanks, doc." Wes responded. "We're going to leave some uniforms here just in case. Pick a team of nurses you know and trust and we'll put them on a list. No one else will able to get in that room."

Doctor Owens nodded her head in understanding before thanking the men and leaving them to their jobs. Travis raised the bag of evidence and sighed saying, "Looks like we got a long night ahead of us." the two detectives knew that they had a dangerous man on their hands who proved that he'd go to any lengths to get what he wants.

Wes and Travis walked reluctantly out of the hospital, knowing they could get more work done at the station. They stopped for some dinner and coffee before opening case files, websites and records before drifting to sleep from pure exhaustion a few hours later.

Travis was the first to awake the next day. He sat up and stretched and looked around the room, sensing that something was off. A few detectives milled about their own work and Captain Sutton wasn't even in yet, looking at his phone it saw that it was a few minutes before seven am. He stood up to thrown something at Wes to wake him up when his foot hit something that was on the floor.

Bending down and picking up a small box, he eyed it carefully not knowing what was inside. There was no return address, which meant that whoever sent this walked into the station, and his name was written in bold lettering. Travis held the item up to his ear and waited a few seconds before placing it on his desk when he was satisfied that it wouldn't explode. He used a letter opener to easily remove the tape and lifted the flaps to revel what was in packaged.

"Wes?" he called over to the still sleeping man. "Wesley, wake up man." a groan was his response before the blond detective sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes. Once awake, Wes asked, "Is that a gift from one of your non-girlfriends"

"Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

"It is when its," Wes squinted at his clock, "7:03 in the morning when I have a cramp in my neck. And what did I tell you about calling me 'Wesley'?"

"Whatever, this was under my desk." Travis ignored his last question and pointed at the box before removing a small vial and blank envelope. He opened the typed note and read aloud,

_Detective Travis Marks,_

_I believe you and your partner know what this is._ _What you don't know is that your doctor friend was wrong. You have less than 20 minutes to get this to the right destination before … Well, I think you can guess what will happen._

_Hope your car is working well._

_- C_

Travis looked at Wes whose eyes had gotten bigger. They didn't say a word, but both jumped up and raced to Wes' car. It was a 15 minute drive to the hospital but they made it in six and a half thanks to sirens and years of pursuit driving. Rushing up the 4th floor via stairs (because they couldn't wait for the elevator, nor wanted to.) they ran to Jane Doe's room, thankful that Doctor Owens was there. Travis did his best to explain that the liquid in the vial was the antidote and that they didn't have as much time as they first thought.

The doctor was against using something they hadn't tested on the inside, but she trusted these men and quickly injected the unknown substance into the young woman's IV.

Now they waited.

Wes went to get something to drink while Travis sat in the waiting room since the doctors were busy. A couple minutes later, Wes returned two bottles of water in hand saying, "Just talked with the captain. Someone called in an anonymous tip this morning and gave the description of our semi."

"We never had time to tell him about that," Travis answered as he accepted the offered water.

"I left a note on his desk last night when we got to the station." Wes took a swig of his drink before continuing, "Anyway, he wanted it checked out."

"All right, let's go." Travis said as he made his way to the door.

"Its probably nothing, you know how I feel about anonymous tips. You can stay here."

"'if the person is remaining anonymous then they must be hiding something'" Travis quoted. "Yeah, I know, but you shouldn't be going alone regardless."

"Like I said before, its most likely nothing." Wes said. "Let me know what the docs say," then he was out the door not waiting for a reply. The Detective got in his car and drove to the location Captain Sutton gave him, his mind wondering who called the tip in and why they chose to remain anonymous.

Ten minutes passed before Wes arrived at the location. The scene in front of him was that of a run down gas station, with a fairly big storage unit in the back. Big enough to hide a semi even? Wes considered this and began to look around the premises, noting that the place hadn't been occupied in years. Broken windows were covered with dirt and cobwebs housed the spiders and a few flies, glass lay on the ground at the bottom partly hidden by weeds and sticks.

Making his way towards the back, the detective noticed a set of tire tracks that had been slightly dusted away. Taking out his phone, he knelt down and snapped a couple pictures to bring back to the station. Maybe Kendall could get something from it. He dusted off his pants before he continued on his way.

Once behind the gas station, Wes started to walk to where the storage unit was and keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. It was hard to tell how big it was, because over half of the unit was in the thick trees and shrubs. He was thirty feet from the door when he began to faintly smell gasoline. Suddenly a powerful explosion ripped through the air. Wes was thrown back roughly into a wall of crates as thick black smoke rose to the clouds and rapid flames licked at whatever was in its destructive path.

The detective was dazed and tried to push himself up with his arms, but he was unable to and soon gave into darkness.

If he was awake, he would've seen a man walk over to where he lay. He would've seen and felt him search his jacket with gloved hands before finding his cell phone and deleting pictures that were taken only minutes before. He would've felt a heavy, splintered crate being roughly placed on his ankle. He would've seen a man walk away, not leaving footprints in the dirt because he strode in the grass. And he would've heard a truck pull out and leave the scene with a trail of dust in its wake.

**A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming. * evil laugh * This chapter was shorter than I wanted, but I couldn't go any further without it throwing off everything. The next one it way longer. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought, as well as a UNISEX FIRST NAME. This is the last chapter to summit one as I'm reveling Jane Doe's name in C4. So Review! :)**

**A/N 2: on a totally unrelated note, the OFFIFIAL Trailer for Michael Ealy's newest film "Unconditional" is out. I can not wait to see it! Check it out! (Remove spaces) trailers. / trailers/ independent /unconditional/**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: still don't own Common Law.**

**Warnings: language, angst.**

**A/N: This is pretty long. Its also not beta'd, so the following mistakes (if any, because I read over it like ten times,) are all mine.**

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Chapter 4

Detective Travis Marks was bored. Beyond bored, really. He'd read every magazine that was in the waiting room and even flipped through a few channels on the TV. He just spent five dollars on a cup of coffee that was worst than anything anyone could ever purposely put into their body and Doctor Owens hadn't come to say how Jane Doe was doing.

And it was just now a quarter until nine in the morning.

He was about to re-read a sports magazine for a third time when the doctor came in. Standing up, Travis greeted her.

"Whatever that was we gave her, is working. She has been answering my voice, twitching her hand a couple times." Rachael said. "I anticipate her to wake up here in a little bit and the first thing I want to do is get a CAT scan of her head. And hopefully there won't be any brain damage. Meanwhile, you can go home and take care of yourself."

Travis was about to protest, but the doctor went on. "I can tell you haven't gotten much sleep, detective. Besides, you need to catch that bastard who did this."

"I'll be back later," he answered.

"I know you will. One more thing, I might've found a way to help try and identify her. She has a tattoo of a star with a banner wrapped around it on her back, right in between her shoulder blades." Doctor Owens removed a sheet of paper from her pocket and handed it to Travis. "Its a Bible verse. Psalm 68:5. Maybe it'll help."

Travis looked at the paper and then back to the woman. "Thank you, doctor. I'm sure it will be. Thanks again." he turned around once the doctor left and ran into Officer Jones. He rode with Wes up here, so he asked the other man for a lift back to the station which was gladly accepted.

-xXx-

Travis all but ran to his desk once at the LAPD. But he was stopped short in his tracks when he saw Wes who was just leaving Captain Sutton's office. His partners' hair was a mess and his clothes were that of an ashen color, mixed with dirt. He had a small cut on his left temple and was limping a bit as well. When he came closer, Travis noticed a wrap around his left wrist.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked. Travis wouldn't admit it, not even to Dr. Ryan, but he was worried. "You look like you got blown up,"

"Almost. I _almost_ got blown up." Wes replied as he tried to hide a wince while he sat down. "I'm adding this to my list of why 'I hate anonymous callers and their stupid tips.'" Travis was about to asked what happened when another voice spoke up.

"Well, I might've found another one for your 'list'," said Kendall as she walked over and handed Wes a couple ibuprofen. "The guys that checked out the scene just got back and found a few chard remits of some kind of homemade box. That bomb was remote activated. There wasn't any evidence of anyone else being there, but those photos you told me about are gone."

Wesley Mitchell felt his stomach sink. Just the thought of someone watching and waiting from afar for him to get close enough to that unit was sickening. If they wanted him dead, why not wait until he was inside the building? Was this a warning, or did someone slip-up? A flash of movement in front of his face brought him from his deep thoughts. Travis had an unreadable look on his face, but Wes would guess he was worried about him.

"Huh? What'd you say?" he asked Travis. He looked around and saw that Kendall was already gone.

"I said I might've found a way to I.D. our Jane Doe." Travis pulled out a sheet of paper from his from pants pocket and handed it to Wes, hoping that this new lead would give the other man something else to think about. "Doctor Owens said she has a tattoo on her back with this written on it. Maybe this can narrow down our search in the system for her."

Wes read the paper before asking, "Do you have a-" but he stopped when he saw Travis holding a small worn Bible in front of him. "Thanks," he said. Turning to the Book of Psalm, he flipped to the 68th chapter and the 5th verse and read aloud, 'A father to the fatherless, defender of widows. This is God, whose dwelling is holy.'." he sat up in his chair, ignoring the pain in his back and questioned, "What's that suppose to mean?"

Travis was quite for a minute while he thought. Then it hit him.

He stood up suddenly and said, "Check the Foster System. Go back around 20 years or so." Wes eyed him funny, but did as he was asked.

"Its going to take awhile to check all those names over the last 20 years, even with a narrowed search on race and gender." Wes said finally. Travis sighed because he knew his partner was right..

"All right. Um, I'm going to run home for a bit, maybe grab a bite to eat." Travis answered. "You want anything? Maybe an ice pack?" he was trying to lighten the mood but so far it wasn't working.

"Nah, I'm good here," was all the answer Travis got. He shrugged his shoulders before grabbing his helmet and heading for the parking lot. His journey home was uneventful, with his being lost in thought, he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings. The anger inside grew more as he thought of this psycho nearly killing Wes. He knew he should be pretty thankful, considering that Mitchell got out with fairly minor injuries, yet he couldn't.

Travis walked up to his apartment and unlocked the door. He took off his jacket and lay it on the back of a chair before placing his keys and helmet on their respective hooks and leaving his holster and gun on. He glanced at his pile of mail before going to the fridge and looking inside. An expired carton of milk and some old take out boxes was all he had. He really needed to go shopping.

He closed the door and turned around, noticing an orange bottle. He mentally slapped himself because he forgot to take his meds and change his dressing on his arm. Travis decided it could wait until after he got some food, so he grabbed his keys and left his apartment, securing the door behind him.

One of his favorite sandwich shops was just down the block, and Travis needed some fresh air. He checked his watch and saw that it was only a few minutes after eleven. He'd felt he should call the officers on watch duty at the hospital for an update, but refrained from the action trusting them to fine.

Walking into the sub shop, Travis was greeted with smiles from the owner and a couple other customers. Mary Ann Franks was an older woman in her mid 50s and she always had a warmness about her, which Travis loved very much. She reminded him about his many foster Moms.

"Well hello, Travis!" Mary Ann welcomed. "Are you feeling up to trying something new today or just the usual?"

"Just the usual, Mrs. Franks." he said.

"What did I tell you about calling me that? It makes me feel old." Travis couldn't help but smile at this. He knew her age, but to anyone else, she didn't look a day over 40. "Its Mama Ann and don't you forget again,"

"Yes ma'am."

"Lucy, come help me, please." Mama Ann called towards the back. A few seconds later a young girl walked into view. She had to have been close to 15 years of age with brown hair that met her slim shoulders. You could tell at once that the two were related.

"Lucy, you remember Detective Marks?" Mama Ann asked.

"Yes ma'am I do." Lucy replied with a grin.

"Could you be so kind and fix his usual order for me? I need to grab a new bottle mustered from the back. I'll be back by the time you finish." she said and then left for the back.

Travis watched as Lucy skillfully made his sandwich, making it from memory and not forgetting anything. The two made small talk about the school year coming up for Lucy as well as her trying out for the basketball team. The detective hadn't noticed before, but really looking he saw that the young girl was tall for her age.

All of the sudden a loud crash and rustling sound came from the back. Travis went on high alert, hoping that Mama Ann was okay. He moved swiftly and quietly grabbing Lucy by the hand and pulling her from behind the counter. He led her over to a middle aged couple and told them to go outside across the street and to call the police.

Drawing his gun and clicking the safety off, he headed for the back of the store. He pushed the door open gently and scanned the visible area before continuing in. Travis checked the isles but found no sigh of disturbance until he got to the back of the room.

There on the floor was Mama Ann, a broken jar of mustard lay five feet away from her out stretched hand. Travis knelt down and searched for a pulse, finding a faint one. Not even a couple second later, Wes walked in with his own gun drawn.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked when he saw his partner by the older woman.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Travis said. "Where are those EMTs? She needs a hospital."

Wes called out the all clear and a couple EMTs jogged back. It was Kevin and Sara. They got to work quickly, not acknowledging the two detectives. Sara got Mama Ann hooked up to an oxygen mask when Travis asked under his breathe if the two remembered to bring a gurney. He turned around from the scene and didn't watch as the medics wheeled the woman (on a gurney that appeared a minute after he questioned them) out from the back and to the waiting bus.

"What was that about?" Wes questioned. He didn't get the answer he wanted, instead Travis said, "There's a girl out there named Lucy. Get a uniform to take her to the hospital, will ya?" Travis walked off without waiting for a reply. Wes shrugged and walked off with a still noticeable limp.

It took all of 15 minutes of looking around and going through every possibility before Travis slammed his fist into the nearest object, which was a wall. He was breathing deeply; in through his nose and out of his mouth as he leaned against the wall. He heard a voice ask, "Maybe you should consider anger management classes. Or at least talk to Dr. Ryan about that,"

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to come to that conclusion," Wes said walking over to his friend. "you know that woman pretty well?"

"Yeah," Travis replied standing straight. "she reminds me of my foster Moms."

"Well, the medics said it looks like a heart attack. Nothing more we can do here."

"You call those guys medics?" Travis laughed. "How does a EMT _forget_ to bring the gurney? That's like a cop forgetting his Kevlar vest before he goes into a gun fight." Wes just eyed him funny at that statement.

"Well, maybe not that bad. Its like a cop forgetting his badge then,"

"Whatever, lets go." Wes said walking to the front. "Did you eat yet?"

"Nah. Wanna hit up that pizza joint on third street?" Travis asked walking to Wes' car. "Maybe that'll past the time before I head up to the hospital."

"Sure thing. Kendall said its really good." Wes said. He saw the look that his partner was giving him and asked, "What?"

"Nothing,"

"No, its not nothing. What is it?" he pressed.

"Really, its not a big deal." Travis snickered while he put his seat belt on.

"Well, while your laughing at something that isn't a big deal, here's some news. I got a hit on our Jane Doe." Wes removed a folded sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and gave it to Travis who opened it and scanned the words and picture before reading aloud.

"Cameron Michael. Age 25, grew up in 15 different foster homes, from ages five to 17 and was never adopted. They kicked her out the day she turned 18 and she never held a job longer than a couple months. She pretty much fell off the map at 22, there are no records or anything. What about before she went into the system?"

"There wasn't anything I could find. Either they are sealed or erased. I thought that was really weird because there isn't anything." Wes said pulling into the restaurant parking lot. "Where does a young woman with no place and no friends go for five years?"

"She could've changed her name," Travis suggested. "Did you-"

"Yes and no." Wes interrupted. "I put her description in the system but came up with nothing and without a name to go on, we don't have anything for that rout."

Travis sighed. "So we're at a dead end?"

"Pretty much," Wes replied. The two detectives went on to enjoy their lunch and Travis would have to tell Kendall that it was really good. Before they knew it, it was a half past three and Travis was eager to get to the hospital.

"Ready to go?" he question his partner who was still reading over a file.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Which hospital did Tweedledee and Tweedledum take Mama Ann?" Travis asked getting into the car.

"The heart hospital. Its about eight minutes from here." said Wes starting the engine. "We can question Mrs. Franks there before heading over to Memorial and Jane Doe."

"Her name is Cameron, Wes."

"Right. I kinda got use to calling her that." Wes stated.

"Its only been a couple days, man." Travis responded. "You can't be serious,"

"Just drop it. We'll check on _Cameron_ last," he said emphasizing the woman's name.

"Remembering a persons name can do wonders, dude." Travis started while looking out the window. "I remember when I got to my first foster home, the lady had nine other kids. And she always got their names right. Except mine. I was called anything between Tracy and Tony, but never Travis. It went on like that for I don't know how long in a couple different homes, I guess I just kinda accepted it.

If you remember someones name, it shows that you care."

Wes felt the grip he had on the steering wheel grow tighter. He was sure his knuckles were turning white, but he kept his cool. Damn, he hated it when Travis talked about his childhood. If he was going to talk about his past, why wouldn't he talk about the time he got arrested for drag racing?

They arrived at the Heart Hospital a few minutes later, and went directly to the receptions desk and asked for the room number of one Mary Ann Franks. Travis would have been flirty with the red head of a receptionist on any other day, but his mind must've been somewhere else because when the young woman said the number and floor, Travis didn't say anything. Wes stepped in, saying his thanks before pulling his partner to the elevators.

"What was that?" Wes asked. "You totally spaced out on me,"

"Just thinking, man."

"Well forget about it for now, Mrs. Franks room is right here on the left." Wes pointed to a wooden door with white numbers on it that read 208. Travis knocked two times before receiving a faint answer to come in. The detectives did and were welcomed to a sight of Mama Ann sitting up in her bed with a smile on her face. Lucy was reading a magazine next to her in a chair.

"Hey, Mama Ann." Travis says warmly, "How're you feeling?"

"I feel great for someone who just had a heart attack. Albeit a minor one," Mama Ann replied.

"That's great to hear. This is my partner, Detective Mitchell." Travis said introducing Wes to the women. "Are you up to answering a couple questions?"

Mama Ann nodded and Wes removed a notepad and pen from his suit jacket. He clicked his pen three times and waited for the woman to get started when Travis asked, "What happened after you went to the back of the store?"

"Oh, let me think." Mary stated, "Ah, yes. I went to find some more mustered for your sandwich when I heard a knock on the rear door. I wasn't expecting any packages, but there stood a delivery man and a box. I told him that couldn't have been for me and he apologized for the inconvenience. Then he left.

I remember feeling something on my neck, I thought it was a bug at first but then everything went black."

Wes spoke up asking, "Do you remember what the delivery man looked like?"

Mary Ann shook her head, "No, I don't. I'm sorry boys."

"That's fine, Mama Ann. You get some rest." Travis said. "Thanks for your time," Travis and Wes headed for the door when Mary Ann said, "I have a camera above that door, though. You are welcome to it." Travis smiled before closing the door behind him and Wes and then said to his partner, "We need to get that tape. Then we need to get to the station,"

**A/N: There is chapter four. Not much action, but that'll pick back up real soon. Don't forget to review! I'd love to hear what you all thought. Only four reviews for chapter three... This story started off so well, I don't know why it dropped off so much. Please review!**

**A/N 2: School starts on Monday for me and I work in the evenings except on Fridays, so I think that's when I'll be updating "Saving Grace". If its not posted on that day, then it will be on a Saturday or Sunday.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Common Law. Or Michael Ealy. Or Warren Kole.**

**Warnings: language.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy C5 of "Saving Grace". Not beta'd, all mistakes are mine.**

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Chapter 5

"Are you sure about this?" Wes asked as they pulled into the sub shop parking lot. "We could've sent some uniforms to pick this up, ya know."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to get it myself." Travis and Wes walked towards the back of the store and into another room where Mary Ann said the tapes were kept. Once there, they went to the computers and the devices where the tapes were placed. Wes hit the eject button but nothing happened. He tried again and got the same result before running his hand along the edge and feeling that it was empty.

"Its not here," he said to Travis who was standing off to his side.

"What do you mean its not here?" Travis said. "How could it not be here?"

"I mean there is no tape in this player," Wes sighed. "Maybe she didn't put a fresh one in it?"

"That's not possible. Mama Ann wouldn't just forget to-" Travis stop short of finishing what he was going to say before pulling out his phone and dialing a familiar number. Not even a minute later he hung up and cursed as he sat down in a chair.

"I just talked with Detective Shaw" Marks said. "He said that the tapes over our area from the morning I found that package under my desk are gone. Along with all the rest of the cameras leading from the front door and everything in between."

"Are you saying that some guy grabs the tape from an old lady's sub shop because he was there. And a killer who sent you a package is stupid enough to walk into a police station and just leaves with all those tapes?"

"It might not have been in that order, but yeah. It looks like that. And I think we're dealing with the same person." Travis said standing up. "I think it'll be a waste of time, but lets get forensics down here to dust for prints. This guy is good. He's careful-"

"Or stupid," Wes interjected.

"Or both, somehow, to get into places without causing a scene. First the hospital, then the station, now the sub shop. This feels like some sick game to me,"

"Forensics are on their way," Wes said as he closed his phone and then looked at his watch. It was rolling into early evening and they still hadn't checked on Miss Michael. "Let's get to the hospital, maybe they have some good news for us."

"Yeah, okay." Detectives Mitchell and Marks left the shop just as forensics pulled in with Detective Shaw who was going to over see the process. The ride to the hospital was silent to say the least, each man lost in his own thoughts.

They arrived at the hospital not long after and went straight to the 4th floor. When the elevator doors slid open they were welcomed, yet again, to a scene of caous.

A team of hospital security guards were running down the hall way in the direction of Cameron Michael's room, followed by a couple of female doctors. A voice was speaking over the intercom, but they didn't pay attention to that as they headed off and followed the crowd.

Doctor Rachel Owens showed up not long after and Travis pulled her aside and asked what was going on.

"Your victim is what's going on," Rachael said angrily. "I had just got back from another emergency when one of my nurses paged me saying it was urgent. Your Jane Doe attacked one of my men and now the security guards are threatening to teaser her."

Travis was taken aback by the doctors statement and then took off for Cameron's room. He had to push his way through the fairly thick crowd before getting to the front and through the rooms door. When he got inside he saw four men cornering the frightened woman, all with stun guns at the ready. Travis took off his badge and said holding it up, "LAPD! Everyone out!" the men didn't move at first causing Travis to yell, "Now!"

The stun guns were lowered and the four men filed out of the room with glares sent the detectives way. Travis called out to his partner, "Get these people out of here," and then turned around, trusting Wes to do his job, to face Cameron who was still on the floor shaking.

Detective Mitchell meanwhile was busy ushering the last few onlookers away when Doctor Owens came over and sighed saying, "I'm really sorry about this, detective. These last few days have been hectic around here."

Wes responded, "I'm sure you all have been doing your best. What I want to know is what caused all of this?"

"One of my nurses, Dominic, told me he went to check Jane Doe's-"

"Her name is Cameron Michael,"

"... Miss Michael's vitals and found her awake and sitting up. She started to get on edge with him around and he said he tried to calm her down." Rachael said.

"I take it things didn't go well after that," Wes guessed.

"No. I am not sure what happened, but it ended with a Dominic hitting his head pretty hard on the side table." she paused before continuing. "He'll probably need stitches," Wes was about to ask another question when Travis stepped into the hallway.

"What ever your guys did just then, affected her traumatically." Travis said grimly. "We need to be realistic with this situation, Doctor Owens. What sort of recovery time are we still looking at?"

"Well, let me see. All her major injuries are healing very nicely, considering all her body has been through these last few days. I am little worried about her immune system."

"Why is that?" Wes questioned.

"Well, say if she were to catch a cold. Her body is still very weak, even with the antibiotics we've pumped into her so far." the doctor answered. "I'm just not sure if she could handle that kind of stress. Let alone in such a short amount of time."

"How much longer will she be here?"

"I'd say at least a day or two, just to be on the safe side. Does she have any family in town?" Rachael wondered aloud.

"I'm afraid not." Travis said.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but she can't stay here forever. Maybe you should think about the WPP."

"She's not a witness. She's a victim." Wes stated calmly when he saw the look of annoyance the doctor was giving Travis.

"And she won't be my problem much longer." Rachael straighten her already neat jacket before saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check on my nurse." then she was gone.

"Man, what's her problem?" Travis asked with a groan.

"I don't know, but I suddenly don't like her." Wes replied. Travis looking over his shoulder towards Cameron's room. She was sitting in her bed now, with her knees pulled up to her chest which reminded him of what his many foster sisters did when a thunderstorm would roll in.

She looked so small.

Two officers walked up to the detectives and greeted them, having come for the night watch over their victim. They returned the gesture before heading for the exit.

"What are we going to do?" Travis asked.

"I'm running dry on ideas, but that's probably because I'm past tired. We can pick this up tomorrow,"

"Wes, its only a quarter til nine."

Wes laughed. "Like I said, I'm tired. I guess almost dying takes a lot outta a person."

"Be sure to tell Dr. Ryan that tomorrow in therapy." Travis said getting into Wes' car. "Before it does a number on your mind."

-xXx-

The next day was relatively uneventful. Travis and Wes spent their day going over files and following whatever leads, albeit only a few, came in from the tip line, which put Wes on edge. He was lost in a book while taking a break when Detective Shaw walked over to him and Travis.

"Captain wants to meet with all the detectives on this case," he said. "two minutes in the conference room." he was gone before they could reply.

"Wonder what's up," Travis said.

"Maybe to make sure everyone is on the same page," Wes thought. "We are pretty much at a stand still on this one."

"Yeah. Let's go see what he's got." They made their way to the conference room where four other detectives sat. Kate and Amy, along with Detective Shaw and his partner, Detective Casey. Captain Sutton stood at the front of the room and waited for Wes and Travis to take their seats before he got started.

"These last few days have been up and down for the RHD. We had a couple of teams work at the hideout of Justin Tucker, where we found Cameron Michael this week while some of you here called all of the first seven victims families." Mike said. "During the field teams investigation in the back yard, evidence was found that lead us to believe we were missing a victim.

"A call came in today and confirmed this suspicion." the captain turned around and placed a photo of a young woman, with blond hair that was to her shoulders and green eyes. Then he put another picture right by it, one that looked the same, except this one had hair past her shoulders.

"Brittany and Bethany Douglass are twins who went missing two months ago. Their parents reported their disappearance 48 hours after that when they didn't return to their apartment. We found Bethany's body during our first investigation with this case, but only discovered Brittany yesterday after Mr. and Mrs. Douglass informed us they had twins.

"We believe they were killed around the same period of time, but for some reason, Brittany was buried in the backyard. The body count is now up to eight and one victim who was found alive. Miss Michael is to be released from the hospital later tonight, so until we find a place where she will be protected, I have asked Kate to take her in until this guy is caught." Captain Sutton stopped and eyed each person to make sure they understood.

"Any questions?"

Detective Shaw raised his hand and spoke after the captain acknowledged him. "Why not put her into the WPP? Isn't that what its for?"

"We considered that direction, and chose against it for a couple reasons. One being we know she doesn't trust anyone, and putting her into that situation would not go well. Two, I'd feel better if she was under an officers, or in our case detectives, protection. Anything else?" no one made a move to speak and the captain dismissed the group. Travis hung behind and asked, "Can I speak with you alone, Cap?"

Wes heard this and was wondering what Travis could possibly be asking that he couldn't be in there for. The door was closed after he walked through it and he shook his head before going back to his desk.

Five minutes later, Travis left the captains presence and went to his desk. Wes asked his partner, "What was that about?" but he didn't receive a response.

"Hello? Earth to Trav," he waved his hand in front of Travis' face, but the man still held an emotionless expression.

Then Travis said, "Our class with Dr. Ryan is an hour earlier tonight. I'll see you there." Travis left after saying that, leaving one Detective Mitchell sitting alone wondering what happened.

Wes spent the rest of his day at the station, before going to his place to change and heading to the counseling session. He pulled into the parking lot and sighed when he didn't see Travis' motorcycle. Turning the ignition off and stepping out of the car, he tried not to think about anything else except getting through another needed (but not wanted) class.

The other couples were there already, sitting in the chairs Dr. Ryan set out. It was a few minutes after Wes sat down when Travis strode in with an unreadable look masking his face, his usual upbeat demeanor gone. He sat down next to Travis without a word and waited for Doctor Ryan to begin.

It seemed like hours had passed in the session before Emma spoke to Travis, questioning him, "Is there something you would like to talk about, Travis? It looks like you have a lot on your mind."

"I don't really-" he began, but couldn't find the words to say. Wes stepped in, "This case that we are currently working on is a big one, each detective is handling it in his or her own way."

"Is it that one with the serial killer?" Peter asked. Wes only nodded.

Travis spoke up next, "Its not just that, per say. I-" he stopped for a minute before continuing. "I have something I want to get in the open. Something I kept from my partner because I know how he would react."

"And what would that be?" the doctor pressed. Everyone in the room was eager to hear what the detective had to say, but none more so than Wesley Mitchell.

Travis took a deep breathe before saying to the group, "A few nights ago, we found one of "The Collector's" victims alive. I don't know what happened, but I sorta made a connection with her. She's being released from the hospital tonight, and she doesn't have a place to say where she'd be safe.

"Since she is a victim who needs protection from that bastard who is still out there, I talked with my captain and I suggested that she be under my care. And he agreed."

**A/N: Oh, Travis. What are you getting yourself into? Hope you were paying attention to this chapter, because I left some things in the open (or their hidden,) that will come into play later. Happy Labor Day weekend and don't forget to review! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Common Law.**

**Warnings: mentions of rape, language.**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I love reading them. This chapter was hard to write and I have no clue why. How was your Labor Day weekend? Enjoy C6! And its not beta'd, all mistakes are mine.**

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Chapter 6

When Travis was done, he looked right at Wes. The other man just sat in his chair and ignored him the rest of the class. They let out and Wes headed straight for the parking lot, leaving Travis behind but Doctor Ryan stopped him.

"Wes, is there a reason Travis' choices upset you?" she asked.

Wes turned around to face them and answered, "Yeah. There is,"

"And what's that?"

"First off, he didn't even think to talk to me about this. We are partners, we're suppose to make tough choices together." Wes said angrily. "How is he going to take care of another human being? Remember the last time he said he would be 'more responsible' ?" he asked using air quotes. "I had to keep a dog at a hotel, then I had to stay with my ex.

"Secondly, he's never cared for anyone else but himself. He doesn't let anyone close to him except his foster families, how is he going to take care of a woman who was kidnapped and raped by a killer who is still out there?" by the time Wes finished his rant he was breathing hard.

Doctor Ryan spoke up saying, "You don't believe he has good intentions of caring for someone in need?"

"I don't know what to believe. I just think its a mistake that will blow up in the long run."

"I don't expect you to believe me, Wes." Travis said suddenly after the room went quite. "I expect you to trust me with this. Cameron is scared, and she shouldn't be put somewhere that'll make her run away. She trusts me for whatever reason and I shouldn't- can't ignore that. I know what its like to grow up without a family to call my own. I know the feelings of bouncing around from home to home, not really having anything that's truly mine."

"Travis-" Wes started, but he was cut off.

"Just, leave it. I need to get to the hospital." Travis grabbed his jacket and said his goodbyes before walking out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Travis Marks slowly walked to the parking lot. He'd asked the captain if he could use a squad car for awhile until the case was solved. Or when he actually bought one for himself. Which ever came first. He started the engine before making his way to the hospital. Having signed the release papers before therapy, all he had to do now was show up.

When he got inside he went straight to Cameron's room, where he saw she was sitting on her bed. She was out of the hospital gown, and now wore a pair of over sized scrubs that hung loosely around her slender figure. Knocking on the open door, he entered with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Cameron," Travis said. Having talked to her earlier in the day, she knew that she would be staying with him until further notice. "Are you ready to go?" Cameron looked around the room, as if she had forgotten something and nodded before sliding off the bed and slid on a pair of slip on shoes the hospital must've left for her.

The two walked out of the hospital and to where Travis parked the car. Opening the door for her, he watched as she uneasily got inside the vehicle. Her movements were tight, her body tense but she seemed to settle down a little once Travis started the car and headed towards his apartment.

He wanted to talk to her, but his past attempts had ended all the same. Cameron hadn't said a single word since she'd first woke up. Travis wasn't going to press the issue, but he would take small steps with this whole process.

They arrived at Travis' place not long after. Walking only slightly in front of her, Travis unlocked his door before ushering her inside. He flicked the lights on and set his things in their proper spots on the table. "I'll be right back," he says before disappearing. Less than a minute later, he shows up with a gray t-shirt and blue basketball shorts.

"I'm sorry I don't have any woman's clothes here, but you can sleep in these." he said holding the clothes out to her. "I figure those scrubs aren't that comfortable." Cameron looked at the offered items before gently taking them, avoiding any form of contact with the detective.

"There's a bathroom at the end of this hall on the left. You can change in there." Travis backed away a couple steps to show the hallway he was referring to and after a couple seconds, the woman walked down the hall and into the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her.

When Cameron was done she left the bathroom and walked back to what she believed to be the living room where the couch had been made into a bed, with sheets and a blanket and a couple of pillows. She hadn't made a sound when she came in, so Travis didn't notice she was there until he looked up. Dressed now in sweat pants and a t-shirt of his own, he smiled and said, "You can have my bed in there," pointing to a room to his right where a light was left on. "I'll sleep on the couch."

Cameron was hesitant at first, not knowing what she should do. She looked around the room and saw that the front door was locked and there weren't many windows in his place anyway, though the drapes were slightly parted. She also saw a gun sitting in its holster on the table by the couch. Travis noticed this action and calmly said, "I won't let anything happen to you. If you need anything or hear anything, I'll be here. Okay?" Cameron stayed where she stood. She looked at Travis very quickly before turning towards his bedroom, leaving the door open.

Taking this as a good sign, Travis got into his makeshift bed feeling a little bit better about this situation. Satisfied with a kitchen light being left on, Travis laid his head on his pillow where he fell asleep soon after.

-xXx-

The next morning, Travis awoke with a start, sensing that something was off. The living room was still dark, meaning that the sun hadn't risen yet. Looking at his phone clock, he saw that it was just before six in the morning.

Sitting up, he glanced over his shoulder and saw that his front door was still locked. Travis stood up and went to check the windows, which were succored as well. Making his way to his bed room, Travis looked in and saw that the bed was empty and a window near the fire escape was open, with the drapes moving from the wind.

Not knowing what to expect, he made his way to the open window and stuck his head out praying for the best. The fire escape was empty, and Travis looked up towards the roof where he saw the tips of a pair of feet hanging over the ledge. Climbing onto the platform and walking over to the ladder, Detective Marks saw that Cameron was there with her knees pulled to her chest.

Clearing his throat so he wouldn't scare her, Travis said, "You know, I like to come up here sometimes too. The view is pretty amazing." Cameron didn't reply, but Travis saw her look at him through the corner of her eye.

Sitting down next to his house guest, but not too close, Travis sighed and wiped sleep from his eyes. The sun was making its way over the horizon just as a cool breeze of wind blow by. Cameron shivered and Travis remember what the doctor said about her health. Standing up, Travis started down the ladder, saying "Lets get inside." Cameron slightly nodded and followed the detective down the stairs and back into the apartment.

Shutting the window down behind them and locking it, Travis made his way towards the front hallway leaving Cameron in the bedroom. When he returned with towels in hand, Travis told her "You can go ahead and get cleaned up. I'll get some breakfast."

Unlike last night, Cameron didn't move to take the items Travis offered. Instead, she just stood there with an unreadable look on her face. Feeling that he shouldn't push the issue, Travis sat the towels on the dresser by the door and went towards the kitchen. Once there, he heard footfalls on the carpet followed by the door to his bathroom softly closing shut. Smiling sadly, Travis opened the fridge and sighed when he remembered that he hadn't had time to go shopping.

Moving to the cabinets, he pulled out a box of granola bars and dumped them onto the counter. After that, he sat a jug of water out and poured two cups full. Walking to his bedroom, Travis went to his closet and removed a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt and a pair of black boots before changing quickly and going back to the living room.

Taking his phone off the charger, he dialed his partners number. After a few rings, a mumbled voice answered.

"Wes, its me." Travis said.

"Yeah, I know who it is. That's what caller ID is for." Wes muffled a yawn before asking, "What's up?"

"I think its better if I didn't come into the station today." he stated. "Can you swing by my place and bring my files and laptop?"

"Sorry. Captain has me talking to Justin Tucker's family this morning." there was a pause before Wes spake again. "I can talk to Detective Shaw, maybe he can stop by."

Travis thought for a minute and replied, "Sure. Just tell him what I was working on last and don't forget my computer."

"Okay. He's probably at the station already, so I'll call him now."

"Thanks, Wes. I'll talk to ya later." he hung up without waiting for an answer. Thankfully, Wes hadn't said anything about last night. Travis knew he didn't want to talk about that right away anyway. He then dialed another number. After a couple seconds, a female voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Kate, its Travis." he said.

"Yeah, what's up?" Kate asked. "And how's your vic?"

"She's okay, I guess. Still pretty uncomfortable being around guys, I'm assuming." Travis replied. "Think you could do me a favor?"

"You still own me like four favors, as I recall."

"Well, if you can do this, then it'll be five."

"What do you need?" Kate questioned.

"Cameron has been wearing my clothes, so think you could pick up some female items and pants, shoes, socks? Those kind of things?"

"Sure. Give me her height and I should be able to find a few pieces." Travis proceeded to give the other detective what she needed just as a knock sounded on his front door.

"Hey, I gotta get this. Is there anything else you need?"

"Nope. I'll call before I head that way. Maybe Amy can help me out." Kate stated.

"Thank you. I owe you one."

"I know you do. Bye." Travis bid farewell and went to answer the door while placing his phone in his back pocket. Opening it, he was welcomed to the sight of Detective Shaw who was holding a box filled to the brim with what he asked for.

"Hey, Shaw." Travis greeted and gestured for the other man to come in. "Thanks for bringing this over."

"No problem, Travis. I was just leaving the station when Mitchell called and I just happened to be coming this way." James Shaw said walking inside. "Where do you want this?"

"You can just put in by the coffee table over there," Travis said while pointing the man where he wanted his items. After setting them in the correct area, Shaw knelt down to tie his shoe and when he was done headed for the exit.

"Is it true that your keeping The Collectors' victim here with you? Is she here right now?" James questioned in awe while stepping into the hallway. Travis looked around to make sure no one else was listening before saying, "How'd you find out about that? Cap wanted it kept under wraps."

"I heard Kate talking with Sutton about if it was the right idea." Shaw said quickly. "Are you sure you can handle this, Marks? You know they don't train detectives for this kinda thing."

"They might not, but its better than the WPP."

"Maybe she would've been better with Mitchell? Hell, or me." James Shaw smiled as he rubbed his chin before continuing. "I just think you should reconsider your choice here, Detective Marks. I know the Captain trusts you, but this is too much. You shhould know this already. Because everyone is the station knows how you handle things: in other words, you don't. Not without consequences. And this is no different." Detective Shaw left before Travis could say another word.

Clicking the door shut, Travis fought the wave of self doubt that started to come into play. He knew he was doing the right thing; he followed his instincts like always. He wasn't sure if he had his partners support with this, but right now he couldn't worry about that. He couldn't worry about what others thought, because if he did...

A chiming sound quickly brought him from his troubling thoughts. Pulling out his laptop to awaken the device, he typed in his password before opening up his e-mail. Selecting the only title-less message in the inbox, Travis read the sort message.

_You've made a big mistake._

_And now you will pay._

_C_

Who knew ten words could speak volumes? Pulling out his phone, he dialed Wes' number and hopped that he would pick up.

**A/N: this was on the shorter side of things, but only because it was almost ten pages long which ends up to be around 3500 – 4000 words for me. I ended it off here, and put the rest into Chapter 7, which I'm working on right now. Let me know what you thought in the review box. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Common Law.**

**Warnings: mild angst/whumping**

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Here's C7 and be sure to hold onto your hats. ;p Not beta'd, any and all mistakes are mine alone.**

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Chapter 7

Wesley Mitchell rounded a corner when his cell phone started ringing. Removing it from his cup holder, he saw that Travis was calling him again as he put the car in park once he had reached his destination. Letting it go to voice mail, Wes got out of the car and began up the steps to the older, but really house that sat on the outside of LA.

He was here to meet with Justin Tuckers sister. Knocking on the wooden door, the detective waited a minute before hearing the clicking of a lock being turned. A young woman answered the door with a sad smile.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked.

"Lisa Tucker?" Wes questioned.

"No, I'm afraid she is out of town. I'm her cousin, Kayla Townes. Is there something I can help you with, Mister-"

Wes removed his badge and said, "Detective Mitchell. I just have a few questions." Upon seeing the badge, Kayla stepped aside to let the man into her home.

"Would you like something to drink, Detective?" Kayla asked as she closing the door.

"No, thank you. I won't take up much of your time." Wes said. Talking out his notepad and pen which he clicked three times, he asked, "What can you tell me about your cousin, Justin?"

Kayla huffed and said, "You mean other than the fact that everyone thinks he died a killer?" Wes didn't make a move to say anything, so the woman continued. "There really isn't much to say about him. He and Lisa were really close, especially after their parents died."

"And when was that?"

"More than a few years ago."

"Has anyone is your family ever enlisted in the military?" Wes asked looking up from his notes.

"No. My great grandfather was going to once, but then he met my great grandmother and decided not to go through with it." she paused before going on. "Now that I think about it, Justin tried to enlist. Five different times, actually. Twice in the state of California and three times somewhere along the Western coast. He never talked about it, I only found about it from the shredded papers in the trash."

"Any idea why he was rejected?"

"From what I could literally piece together, I think he had some sort of mental disorder. I tried to talk to him about it, but he would shut me out every time." Kayla sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. "I even mentioned it to Lisa. I thought she could get him a doctors appointment."

Wes wrote down Kayla's quotes and asked, "And did she?"

"Yes. She set up many appointments, but Justin never went. He changed a little bit after this, I mean, he was still the same Justin but he would stay out late and we never knew where." Kayla said. "Then one night I got a call from a blocked number who said I should come by and get him. They gave me an address, and at first I thought it was a joke. I went anyway and found Justin drunk as a sailor in front of some kind of Military shooting club."

"Do you remember the name of the club?"

"No. But even if I did, I don't think it'd help any. It burned down around eight months ago."

"Okay, what can you tell me about that night you went to get Justin? Was there anyone hanging around the building, any one you can ID?"

"Um, no. There wasn't anybody else outside. But I do remember seeing a dark truck, I think it was a Ford something. One of their bigger models. It was the only one there at that time."

Wes jotted down a few more notes before closing his pad and placing it back in his jacket pocket along with his pen. "I believe I have every thing I need, Miss. Townes. If you think of anything else, please feel free to call me." Wes handed her his card. "Thank you for your time."

Walking down the stairs and back to his car, Wes pulled out his cell phone and earpiece before calling his partner who answered on the first ring.

"Travis, I'm just now leaving Justin's sister's houses. I spoke with his cousin and I think I got a new handle on this case."

"That's great man, but I think we have a problem." came Travis' reply.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Detective Shaw came by and dropped off what I needed and before he left, he played the 'you-don't-know-what-you-are-getting-into' card."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means that-" he paused before speaking again. "Actually, I'm not sure what it means yet, but something about him is off. What do you know about him?"

"Not much. I know he came to the RHD some time long ago, but no one knows where he was before that because his records are sealed." Wes said. "If you are going to accuse a detective of something, you need proof, Travis."

"I'm not accusing anyone of any thing. I just don't like the guy." Travis stated. "One more thing, I got an e-mail from The Collector." Travis then went on to tell his partner about the short message.

"You need to be careful, Travis. This guy has been in contact with you twice already, don't throw out the idea of him already knowing where you live. And that you have Cameron." Wes warned. "How is she anyway?"

"She's sleeping right now but won't eat anything and still hasn't said a single word." Travis answered. "How'd things go on your end?"

"I spoke with Justin's cousin, Kayla. Said that he tried to enlist five different times, but was always turned down due to having a mental disorder." Wes said. "He hung around a Military shooting club a lot, too and she remembers seeing a dark Ford truck one night after picking him up."

"That might explain the knots, maybe he learned some tricks from someone, but the truck doesn't mean anything. Do you know the model anyway?"

"I don't think that's likely. Something here doesn't add up," Wes thought for a moment before saying, "She said it had to have been one of their bigger models, most likely a F250 or F350."

"If The Collector killed his victims in his hideout before dumping their bodies where they were found by the LAPD, he would need a way to do it without drawing any attention to himself." Travis said. "I read in a file that his first seven victims were found in abandoned buildings, sans Brittany Douglass who was buried in the backyard. People drive trucks all the time, especially lately, it would be easy for him. I'm just not sure."

"Yeah, I know that's just a theory right now. We don't have anything solid to go off of." Wes said as he slowed his car down and stopped in front of a stop light. Looking in his rear view mirror, he spoke into his mic and continued on with his conversation. After a few minutes of going over what each other had with his partner, Wes noticed a navy vehicle with tinted windows that were so dark it practically screamed illegal following him. But after a few blocks, it was gone.

"Keep digging, maybe we're just overlooking something." Wes said. He glanced into his mirror again, but there was nothing there. This case was really getting in his head.

"Okay. Kate and Amy are suppose to stop by with some necessities for Cameron. Let me know if you find anything." Travis said good bye and hung up on the other line.

Wes removed his ear piece and readjusted his hands on the steering wheel as he came up on a hill to cross a bridge. Suddenly a truck appeared in front of him with windows so tinted, Wes couldn't see the driver. He didn't have time to react as the other driver swerved into his lane and clipped the front of the detectives car on the left side.

Wes lost control of his vehicle as it slammed into the railing, causing the rods of railing to fall into the water below. Airbags failing to deploy. Sparks flew only for a moment as the sound of metal on metal filled the air before slowing down. Dazed and slumped against the side of his door, blood running down the side of his face, Detective Mitchell tried to gather his wits. The echo of an engine revving caused the man to look out of his broken window just in time to see the blurry image of the truck speeding towards him again.

Leaning over to the other side of the car, Wes quickly pulled the passengers seat belt around his chest and braced for the impact. The trucks loud engine roared as it rammed into the side of the black car, pushing it over the edge of the bridge with the detective still inside.

Wes felt a sense of weightlessness as he plummeted off of the bridge and towards the water below. It is said that when you are about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. Wes didn't believe that for a second because nothing flew across his vision except the image of water.

The impact was nothing Wesley Mitchell could have ever expected. It was nothing he could prepare for, but he did his best. The force of the water broke the already cracked windshield and it rushed into his body like a raging bull. He wasn't expecting the cold shock of the water and it took his breath away.

Wes knew as he tried to clear his mind that the car was already submerged and slowly sinking to the bottom, but he forced himself to stay calm. He untangled his body from the seat belts just has his lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen that he wasn't able to get any of. He attempted to swim out of a broken window, but something was preventing him from getting out.

He discovered that his leg was pinned in between the drivers seat and the steering wheel just as he felt the car come to rest on the bottom of the river. His chest grew tighter with each passing second while he fought to release his trapped limb. The edges of his eyesight began to blacken when he got his leg free and Wes wasted no time in swimming out of the watery death trap and towards the surface, still being careful to not swim too fast.

Breaking through the waters massive hold on him, Wes gasped as he welcomed the bliss of air his body so desperately desired. He dipped under the water for only a second as he swam towards the rivers bank. Once there, the detective pulled himself out of the water until his arms and legs refused to go any further. He sucked in deep breaths of oxygen once he stopped on the bank and his chest rose and fell in rhythm with the waves that lapped at his feet before exhaustion overcame him and his body went still.

-xXx-

Travis closed yet another file and sighed. It had been hours since he'd last spoken with Wes and he could only wonder what his partner was up to.

Kate and Amy stopped by half an hour earlier to give Travis what he asked for and for that he was thankful. Cameron lay peacefully on the couch asleep dressed in a pair of long pants that fit her thin frame, though she still wore one of Travis' shirts because the female detectives couldn't find any that would fit their victim.

Detective Marks was thankful to have thoughtful neighbors as well. He hadn't had time to get any food, but an older lady down the hall from him made a couple of sandwiches. She always said it was the least she could do after he stopped a young thief from making off with a DVD player. Even though that was months ago.

He attempted to get Cameron to eat and for a minute he thought he had succeeded. But the woman only ate a quarter of the meal before vomiting it back up. She fell asleep not long after that, and only drank half a glass of water.

Now that Travis had time to look, he saw how sickly the woman appeared to be. She was wrapped in the covers that Travis laid out and she shivered beneath them. If he had to guess, the detective would say that his guest was running a fever. But he wasn't going to check because he didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was. Hopefully it was only something she could sleep off.

Getting up from his seat at the table, Travis made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water while yawning at the thought of sleep. After getting a drink, Travis went to check the front door and windows throughout him home. Once he was done, the detective walked back to the living room and sat down opposite of the couch that Cameron was on. He yawned again and wiped his eyes before his head fell forward and his chin touched his chest.

Jerking his head up, Travis noticed that it was dark out. There weren't any lights brightening the apartment because he hadn't turned any on and the only sound he heard but the steady breathing of Cameron who was still fast asleep on the couch.

He must've dozed off for a few hours.

He stood up and made his way to back of his home, his boots that he'd yet to take off making a soft padding sound on the carpet. He was halfway down his hallway when he sensed something behind him. Travis didn't have time to react as something rammed into the side of his body which sent him into the wall to his left.

Pain shot through his arm, but the detective ignored it and pushed his assailant into the wall opposite of his position. Jumping up and landing on the balls of his feet, Travis readied himself for another attack. The person was dressed in black from head to toe, and they had a hood pulled down low to cover their face. How they could see to even fight was beyond Travis.

The person in black charged towards the detective and the two went flying through the air, out of the hallway and into the living room with a crash onto a coffee table. A hand shot out and gripped tightly onto Travis' neck and the gasping detective instantly went to fight the hold on him, but the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking stopped him in his tracks.

"Do as your told and the girl won't get hurt," the person said. Their manly voice was low and it was close to sounding like a growl, but as Travis reluctantly began to ease his grip on his captors arm, the hand around his neck loosened slightly. It was then that Travis noticed that Cameron was no longer on the couch, but was tied up and in the arms of another person clad in all black who had a tight hold around her waist. Even though it was dark in the apartment, the glimmer of a knife blade shone in the moonlight the peaked through the window as it was pressed against Cameron's neck.

Detective Marks was roughly forced onto his stomach and his hands were pulled behind his back and zip tied together. He was then hauled to his feet, splintered wood and shattered glass crunching beneath his weight as his attacker ushered him along by pressing the gun into the small of his back. He stumbled - maybe a bit more than he needed - and bumped into the table by the front door, knocking off an object in the process.

The action didn't go unnoticed by the person behind him or the person who held Cameron because as soon as the unknown item fell to the floor with a soft thud, a whimper escaped from Cameron's lips as the knife was pressed harder against her skin causing a trickle of blood to run down her neck.

"Try that again, and my friend over there will slit the girls throat right here. Right now." the person behind Travis said leaving no room for bluffing and not even a hint of doubt.

Cameron's captor opened the front door to the apartment from its cracked state and walked with the woman out in front, while Travis and his attacker brought up the rear. The group of four descended down the back flight of stairs into an alley that was lit up by a single street light.

A navy truck was sitting under the light, the front of it facing them as the came out of the building. Travis noticed that the fender of the truck was damaged – its lights broken and the area around it dented as if it hit something hard.

A hand grabbed his arm and spun him around so that Travis was facing his assailant. Hood still resting low over their face they said when they noticed this, "Got into a lil accident with your partner." Travis felt anger rise up inside him. Was that way he'd never heard back from Wes? Did his partner get to close to something that these guys didn't want known?

By now there were behind the truck and the bed with its cover were facing them. Cameron was visibility shaking in her captors arms and her eyes were filled with fear. Not from fear of her current situation, it was something else but Travis couldn't put a finger on what it could've been. The voice behind him whispered in his ear and said, "I hear that drowning is the worse way to die. You try to take a breath, but there's no air and the water fills your lungs before you know what happened."

Travis had had enough. With his hands tied, he lowered his shoulder into the closest person to him which caused the man to stumble back a couple steps. Cameron screamed but it was cut short. Travis looked over his shoulder to see her slumped figure being loaded into the covered bed of the truck. The other person stepped back and Travis saw a empty needle still in their hand.

These few seconds was all that was needed because the man Travis just attacked was up again and coming towards him. While his focus was on the person with the needle, the man came up behind the detective and brought his gun down on the back on his head. A white hot pain shot through his skull and Travis crumbled to the ground without a single thought.

**A/N: Wow, that's like two cliffhangers in one! * hides behind brick wall * Don't kill me! This story isn't over yet! Leave a review and let me know what you thought! XX**

**And my schedule at work has changed, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to update once a week like I've been doing. Not to mention school is swarming me -yeah senior year!- I just don't have the time. (since over 70% of this story was pre-written by the time I published it, I was able to post once a week.) Ahhh, and I've yet to finish Chapter 8. *sob* I'll try to get it up when I'm done. Okay, enough ranting. Review loves! XX**


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